Anne Coburn-Griffis: Birds do it, bees do it

I thought I heard the trill of a red-winged blackbird on my running
route today. Last week I saw what must have been a hundred turkey
vultures soaring to and roosting in one sycamore tree along the
Blanchard River between Ottawa and Glandorf. Robins are the traditional
heralds of spring, but those cheeky birds pop up between snowstorms
throughout the winter months. The other two bird species fly the coop
each fall, at least as far as southern Ohio.

On March 12, Ohio
State Extension’s Jim Hoorman spoke to a small crowd at the Putnam
County Educational Service Center. While a snowstorm closed school and
raised road advisory levels outside, Hoorman talked about one effective
way to combat flooding by planting radishes, winter peas, red clover and
other cover crops. He said that the plants’ roots hold the soil in
place, reducing soil erosion. By reducing soil erosion, the plants also
reduce both the rate and quantity of water that drains off the field. In
tandem with field tiling, although less of it due to the cover crop
effect, 80 billion gallons of water could be slurped up and out of Main
Street.

We have an agricultural industry that is the biggest
business in Northwest Ohio. It takes in a lot of land that could act as a
sponge during flood events, land that could make good use of the
retained water. So, what’s the hold up? Hoorman says the biggest
stumbling block to increasing the percentage of farmers who plant cover
crops is tradition.

In my mind’s eye, I see my grandpa driving the
Farmall as it pulls the wagon that I’m riding in, mown Sudan grass
falling all around me. I know now that this eight-inch grass is used as
an organic cover crop, hay or silage. Grandpa probably planted it for
all three, especially as fodder for his Jersey cows. I just thought it
smelled really good and it was fun to watch my uncles throw linseed oil
at each other while they painted the new collecting wagon.

Grandpa
hadn’t always planted Sudan grass. He was always trying new things, new
ways to boost production of that rich, buttery Jersey milk. I was in
college when he landed a contract with County line cheese, a major coup
in his farming career.

As our planet seeks to right itself, change
is all around us. Those red-winged blackbirds are a good month ahead of
schedule. The town of Hinckley had its annual buzzard festival on March
15, yet I saw my first turkey vulture of 2014 on March 1. Beekeeping is
moving inside village, town and city limits as apiculturists try to
keep honeybees flying, pollinating and spinning the sweet stuff. If a
cover of clover intertwined with six-foot radishes can keep people in
their homes and help revitalize a downtown or two, maybe that’s worth
trading a few traditions that could be holding up positive changes.